I have great memories of the Brindisi Port, my bf and I were going to Greece and spent a whole day in this city before embarking.Lovely port, lovely area. The views are amazing.If you're heading to Greece, this is a great option.
Port being redeveloped with lovely waterside areas. Waterfront restaurants and bars in abundance and lovely views over harbour. Lovely spot to spend the evening
A wonderful surprize hidden away...spent a few hours in the heart of this beautiful city...away from the regular tourist hotspots. Loved the shopping, food and people.
The esplanade at Brindisi has been revamped and is now a pleasure to walk along. The evening 'passeggiata' has always been a lively affair in Brindisi but it is now even more pleasurable with lots of bars and cafes and wonderful views across the water. The recent upheaval when all the work was being done has been well worth enduring for the present elegant promenade that can equal anything on the Riviera.
Very calm, peaceful and very smart port! Take a ferry and see how God created such a beautiful nature while in the waters
I have always loved the port and see front but since the recent re-codecoration with marble flooring and wood decking and modern lighting it's ever soooo beautiful. Must see at night!
The sea front has been completely revamped and now it sits well with the tree lined avenues leading from the train station. A real example of how to do classic urban planning.
We took the Grimaldi Lines ferry from Brindisi to Igomenitsa in Greece and back to Brindisi from Patras.A thoroughly, genuinely, terrible experience. Started with "arrive 2 hours before departure for check in" - usually this means a couple of hours of sitting about, but in this case its an actual 2 hours of checking in, standing in a very long bad tempered, hot, smelly, queue. Followed by madness of no organisation of cars getting onto the ferry - this is what happens without those people who guide you on in a sensible way. Complete gridlock getting onto and off the ferry. It took 2 hours to load the boat!The journey out their was, perhaps, enough seating for a 5th of the number of passengers and barely enough floor space inside for people to sit down - there were people literally laying up the stair cases. We left 2 hours late, 4 hours after the start of check in.On the way back, thank God we booked a horrid stuffy cabin for the overnight trip. Still, with only enough vehicles to fill about a quarter of the boat, it left late and with a flat calm sea lost another hour before picking up people and cars on the way. We watched from the deck as the, presumably, underpowered boat took 30 mins to dock while a superfast.com ferry docked, unloaded and loaded its load and set off. We were another hour.Again, people were sleeping all down the corridors, on the stairs and so on. No toilet paper, cleaning obviously. Only one stall selling a few snacks and coffees - a closed shop. Flat calm sea again and still we arrived 2 hours late and it took another hour to get off the boat.This is not only a horrendous experience I seriously doubt whether its at all safe and whether the service is operating anywhere near to legal standards.In terms of travel to Greece, I would never use that route again. The motorway journey to the far South of Italy misses all of the attractive parts of the country, its a near endless slog requiring a couple of over night stops and a couple of tanks of fuel (Italian fuel is more expensive that it is in the UK!!). Way more sensible to catch a boat up the coast and never (NEVER) a Grimaldi Lines tub.
Crossing to Greece can be completed from various Italian ports, depending on your destination: Brindisi, Bari, Ancona... I chose Brindisi. First I knew of a great B & B - no hassle. Secondly, the route I wanted to take, the time... left from Brindisi. There is a free shuttle bus from the bottom of Brindisi main street that connects passengers, to the main port terminal. You can take a local bus, (difficult) or drive, but this shuttle makes it easy and convenient. If you need to wait in Brindisi for any length of time, there is an inside waiting area. Besides, surrounding cafes, bars, but watch afternoon closures. (1 p.m.) A supermarket close by to purchase food, drinks, for the crossing, which I recommend. Once at the port, after check in (if you have a ticket) or need to purchase tickets - there's a few liner kiosks/agents in the same terminal. It's a busy port, many long haul trucks leave from this location, plus the ships offer car ferry services. A small waiting area, washrooms, not very exciting, a cafe, coffee, snacks, drinks. An outside sitting area, another cafe where, if you happen to be taking your car across, you can wait closer to the boarding area. If on foot, a bus drives you to the main departure terminal for boarding, at the dock, but it isn't a long walk. A newer, clean, light, location, coffee bar... I would imagine busier in summer months. September was supposedly quieter but the ship was packed. As note, most of the ships from Brindisi are long haul truck carriers, and many still are. This means they have limited passenger facilities or that the ships cater more to the service of truckers. Not a problem, unless you imagine 5 star! Apparently, Bari is the choice for passengers & passenger/car crossings.
The port area is quiet, clean and pretty, with paved walkways and tastefully designed street lights lining your path. You can take a leisurely stroll, watch the locals going fishing, or have a drink, snack or meal in one of several restaurants near the port.